Court orders forfeiture of Diezani’s N325m Lekki property

- A piece of land belonging to Diezani has been temporarily forfeited to the federal government

- The land was allegedly gotten from proceeds of crime

The Federal High Court in Lagos has granted temporary forfeiture to the federal government to take over a piece of land valued at N325.4 million belonging to former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

The Nation reports that Justice Babs Kuewumi granted the forfeiture on Wednesday, June 27.

This followed an ex-parte application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) counsel, Anslem Ozioko. According to the EFCC lawyer, the land was acquired with proceeds of crime.

The judge directed the anti-graft agency to publish the temporary forfeiture order in a national daily to put interested parties on notice.

The EFCC is seeking to appoint “a competent person(s) or firm to manage the assets/property named and described in the schedule to this application.”

Abdulrasheed Bawa who is an EFCC investigator revealed that the agency stumbled upon the documents linking the former minister with the land while executing a search on the office of Amamgbo, an ally of the ex-petroleum minister.

He said they recovered an undated report titled, “Highly Confidential Attorney Work Product August Report,” among others.

He added: “The report contained a list of 18 companies and several properties located in the United Kingdom, Nigeria and the United States of America.

“During the course of his interview, Mr. Donald Chidi Amamgbo told us that he registered the 18 companies to assist Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke in holding titles of her properties and that all the properties belong to her."

The Nation reports that Akinjide was arraigned along with a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader in Oyo state, chief Olarenwaju Otiti, a former senator representing Oyo central senatorial district, Ayo Adeseun and a former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is said to be at large.